Thanks to Karen Vincelette of Youth Catalytics for sharing this training opportunity with us.
October 31st, 11:30am, Live Webinar

Although private foundations continue to increase in number and variety across the country, and although they are giving out record-breaking sums of money to nonprofits in all fields, competition for those dollars has never been fiercer.  Faced with daunting odds, ever-shrinking on-line application formats, and increasingly strict funding limitations, many nonprofits are finding it harder than ever to win new grants from private foundations.

Nonprofits still clinging to the “write and submit” approach to grant writing are increasingly bound to fail – grant writing today is as much about reaching out and building relationships with grant-makers as it is about crafting that perfectly persuasive proposal. After all, what good is a great proposal if the funder never sees it?

This webinar will outline how to approach different kinds of private foundations, from large national foundations to small family foundations, and what to do once you have their attention.  Using actual foundation guidelines and online resources, webinar participants will learn how to:

• Gather detailed information about a foundation’s priorities
• Assess whether the funder is a strong prospect for funding
• Devise a strategy for approaching different types of foundations (including foundations that “do not accept unsolicited requests”)
• Make an introductory call or visit
• Manage site visits or “reverse” site visits
• Respond to rejection and keep the door open
• Use the online application to most effectively connect with a grant-maker’s guidelines and priorities (how to get their attention!)

About the Trainer
Sharon Vardatira, NEN’s Senior Fund Development Specialist since 1996, will facilitate this webinar. She has 30 years of proposal writing experience, including as Development Director and Executive Director of several Boston-area nonprofits. Since 1995, she has provided fund development consultation to NEN and its member organizations, as well as to other regional and national non-profit agencies, educational institutions, and organizations working on a wide variety of issues. In the last three decades, Vardatira has written over 350 grants, raising approximately $5.5 million from government, foundation, and corporate funders. Vardatira is a member of the National Society of Fundraising Executives, Associated Grantmakers of Massachusetts, and Council on Foundations.

For more information and to register online, visit: https://www.youthcatalytics.org/event/private-foundation-webinar/